Mouth organ with fingering selector



' IN VEN TOR.

JaseyJ/I Leder''lle ATTORNEY Sept. 16, 1952 l Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED Vs'rxrlss PATENT oFElcE MOUTH ORGAN WITH FINGERIN G SELECTOR Joseph Lederne, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application September 13, 1947, Serial No. 773,861

6 Claims. (Cl.A 134-377) This invention relates to improvements in wind instruments in the nature of harmonicas, mouth organs and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved form of mouth organ or harmonica in which the selection of the notes and chords to be played is accomplished by iingering rather than by the usual manner of cooperative movement of the mouth and tongue over selected air discharge and intake openings communicating with individual reeds.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of mouth organ or harmonica including a hollow harmonica body having a reed plate disposed therein, one face of the reed plate being in communication with a mouthpiece common to all reeds, and having a plurality of iinger holes in communication through individual ducts with the reeds on the other face of the reed plate, whereby, as air is caused to move into or out through said mouthpiece, only those reeds are actuated whose finger holes are unblocked by the iingers of the player.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of mouth organ or harmonica including a pair of complementary body sections adapted to be joined along their opposed edges to form a hollow harmonica body, each body section being recessed to receive a portion of the edge of a reed plate disposed therebetween and thus dividing the interior chamber of the harmonica body into rst and second compartments on opposite sides of the reed plate, the body sections having -complementary extensions which when assembled definev a mouthpiece communicating with said first compartment, the second compartment being subdivided into sub-compartments communicating between each pair of inhaleexhale reeds and a linger hole corresponding thereto and formed in the exterior wall of the second compartment.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of mouth organ or harmonica which is so arranged as to be easily mastered by a novice, without the necessity for an extensive and costly course of instruction therein.

4A further object of the invention is to provide an improved and novel form of mouth organ or harmonica having the general external appearance in many respects similar to that of an Ocarina, but which is in reality a reed instrument Vwith individual interior reeds for each note.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of mouth organ which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, and which is simple to use and provides good tonal quality.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Z Will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved mouth organ,

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the instrument shown in Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a plan view taken on line 4--4 of Figure 3 and showing the bottom half of the mouth organ,

Figure 5 is a plan View taken on line 5--5 of Figure 3 and showing the upper half of the mouth organ, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken on line 6 6 of Figure 3.

In the use of conventional types of harmonicas and mouth organs. it is necessary to learn a quite complicated system in which the mouth is moved along the entire length of the harmonica opposite the location of the particular notes to be played, and the tongue must be so disposed as to expose only the specic openings which communicate with the desired reeds. This manipulative technique is often a stumbling block to those who wish to learn how to play the harmonica, and frequently prevents them entirely from using this small, compact and companiable musical instrument.

The present invention makes it unnecessary to employ the mouth and tongue for locating the notes to be played, it being simply required that the player blow or draw upon the mouthpiece as needed, all location of the notes and chords being accomplished by means of the fingers. In order to understand clearly the nature of the invention and the best means for carrying it out, reference may now be had to the drawings, in which like numerals denote similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown, my improved mouth organ and harmonica includes a hollow housing or harmonica body generally indicated at I0, and formed of upper and lower complementary hollow portions l2 and I4 which mai7 for convenience be termed upper and lower halves, although they may not necessarily dividethe body Ill accurately in half. The lower body half I4 has a smoothly rounded external contour as shown, and the upper body half I2 is similarly rounded, so as to present no sharp or rough edges to the hand of the player and to comfortably iit his hand and mouth when in use. The harmonica body l0 may be formed of molded plastic material or other suitable substance. Y

Complementary upper and lower inner chamn of the upper body ihalf I2;

and lower halves I2 and I4 to come into mutual contact when assembled as in Figures .1, 2 and 3,7.

the halves being preferably secured together along their abutting edges by Acementorother-v 5 Wise to form a tight seal, as at 26.

The upper inner chamber I6 is divided by a number of lateral upstanding inner walls or par- 'titions 136, into `individual 'upper inner compa-rtments'v 62,' the spacing betweenadjacent inner partitionsL BQbeing such as toinclude-therebe 'tween one blow and one draw reed YSLi-"and 36, corresponding to two adjacent notes -inthe muvsioal scale covered by vthe harmonica. From Figure 5, it will be seen that eaeh-upperfinner compartment 32 communicates with the outer atmosphere through an individual ngering hole 38 which is formedin the upper wallrsurface 49 The upper portions of the ngeringholes 38 are divergently frusto=conicail,` as -see'n'lbest in Figures 1 and 2, -each being *encircled by anup standing annular rim @s2 which-is -thus-raised labove 4the surface Adfofthe'upper ibody 'ha-lf I 2, and is so proportioned-aste -allowfthe-jnger vtip of 'the "player to easily locate-'the ksame to as the player blows and draws upon the mouthpiece, the lower mouthpiece extension also being open at its left hand end as seen in Figure 2. It will be seen from Figure 2 that the Wall 44 blocks entrance of air directly into the upper compartments .32, and that when the Vplayer blows upon the mouthpiece, air lenters :the mouthpiece vestibule, flowing in the direction of the arrows 6E) into the lower chamber I8 and upwards through the reed plate slotI 52, into the upper ycompartment 32, causing the reed 34 to vibrate and to produce a musical sound. The air leaves the upper compartment 32 through the finger hole '38 as seen in Figure 2.

.It will 'be'apparent that when the player blows on themouthpiece, all the blow reeds 34 whose r fingeringY holes S are uncovered will vibrate to 'be placedthereon yto block the fingering holer n38 whendesired: VVThere areeight-fsuc'h fingering lholes 38,` arranged. as "shown'best in Figure Vl,

Veach fingering vl'xole lthustcorrespon'ding toa pair f of reeds "Slt andii inthe-reed plate andfcommunic'ating with those yreeds only, `through the intervening' upper iinner"compartment 32' correa 'spending therewith.

The lreed plate l2f); as "shown'in Figures `2 'and-5, orms'the ilo'or V"of Athe "upper inner chamber It, being set along itsfour edgesinto Athe recess-22 so as to block .passage of air past tsedgesjor between "adjacent" inner' eojmp'artrnents-'iil Vthe reed .plate being "cemented, intoY "the4v 4:recess "'22 L and to' 'theiunderlying outer -edges-ofthe 'parti-e tion v`walls 30 'if needed for'this purposes' `-vrFrom 54 is Icontinued throughthe upper-mouthpiece extension i6 `v.Whichis integrahwith"theupper half I2, to provide a` continuousputer rseatfor the reed plate;v 'The restof 'the `upperunouth= open at 58.

Thereed platelv iso a 'formiwellknown'in 'theart uand f commonly employed I in :conventional harmonicas, having/a plurajlityof v'blow''and draw reedsl '323 'and 35 overlying lateral slots '52! and mouthpiece extensions "4% and "hollowed "out'a's vat 58 to vform when combined with the upperrecessV "48, anl entrance rvvestibulefor `the'passa-ge of "air produce/musical sounds'in accordance with their respectivepitch. AAccordingly,-the player will -co'ver lwith his liinger tips, 'all the lingering holes `reeds-3e willfv'ibrate-and 'make musical sounds except ther'eeds whose corresponding `iingering holes Y'are-covered'with vthe ngers, the-direction of theair upon inhaling being the reverse of that for blowing, and passingonly through the uncovered holes 33 and the underlyingdraw `slots to vibratefthe draw reeds 3G.

As 4is'wel-l 'known fin vthe art, the' direction of Ypassage of the air in V-blowingiwill causeth'e drawreeds tovclose Vtheir slots 52 and 'the direction of the passage of5the air in drawing will cause-'the blow reeds'to'close their slots 52. As shown in Figures 2 and 4, t-helower chamber Vi8 isalso-fdivided by lateral partition walls 162 whichl areintegral with the lower body yhalf-'Iii and extend 'from the inner fw-all surface 813v to flocations @6, allowing the airpassing nthrough/the mouthpiece to ilow upon blowing, in the-direc tion VVof the arrows Ashown in vFigure-"4,"and inthe reverse `direction upon drawing These -lower 'partitienwalls Efalsoprovide support-frombelow for -the Voverlying reed V`'plate -Ehbeing 'directly below-thefupper Vpartition'walls V4I-t will vbe notedthat the reed plate has lits ends extending partly-across'the kidney `bean shaped-enderecesses oi tie -uppefr #and lower '-halves as shown inA rFig-- ure" ',x

fIhese '-lidne'y *bean shaped y1recesses A`S13 are lformedinthe end portions. ofthe'up'per and-lower bodyhalves =I2 and 1i 'il in" the-"molding tirocess when-they aremadev of plastic -or :other similar materials, wand* yto aid in -assembly, each lower Vhalf ii-'fl lhas'r Ja. cylindrical recess or socket-Iii 'formed ythereinat each-lend to receive an upstandingV locator pinl2 molded l'integrally-with the abutting surface of the `upper half Hiyas shown-in-Figure 6.v Y YFrom theforegoing deseriptionyit willfbe seen that the .instrument described 'isi 'quite simple in `designgihas o'nly lthree 'major parts, namely-the two halves -andfthe reed plate, andiseasilyv manuiaotured at'lcwv-oest The angularlyinolined mouthpiece 'illustrated voffers 4additional* adv-ane tages 'among-whichfare efficient winddistribution.

It is also Vapparentthatthefinstrument can 'be played quite easily,somewhatin the manner Vof theV well known'iocarinamby 'blowinglor drawing upon themouthpiece 'and uncovering ',tho se' finger holes corresponding'tothe 'notes to'jbeplayed.' Y Although have *described :a ,preferred embodiment-'ofrny invention' in vspecific termaitis'to: be

Vunderstoodthat'various changes'may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Iclaim:

1. A mouth organ comprising a mouth organ body having a main chamber formed therein, a reed plate disposed in said chamber and dividing said chamber into upper and lower compartments, a mouthpiece formed integral with said body and communicating with said lower compartment, upper interior dividing walls spaced from each other and dividing said upper compartment into a plurality of upper sub-compartments isolated from each other and each opening inwardly upon a pair of inhale-exhale reeds in said reed plate, each of said upper sub-compartments having a fingering hole formed in its upper outer wall and constructed and arranged to form a seat to receive the finger tip of the player, so as to be normally closed thereby, whereby upon passage of air -through said mouthpiece caused by suction or blowing upon said mouthpiece and the uncovering of any of said iingering holes, the corresponding reed in the path of said air is caused to vibrate to produce a musical sound, and a plurality of air-guiding partial partition walls formed integrally with the bottom and one wall of said. lower compartment and extending incompletely toward the opposite wall of said lower compartment, whereby air is free to flow between said mouthpiece and through the space between said air-guiding partition walls and the said opposite wall of said lower compartment.

2. A mouth organ comprising an upper half having an upper compartment formed therein, and divided laterally into a plurality of upper subcompartments, areed plate closing said upper subcompartments with each adjacent pair of inhaleexhale reeds in said plate communicating with one of said upper sub-compartments, and a lower half adapted to be joined to said upper half and having a lower compartment formed therein,

whereby said reed plate separates said upper and lower compartments from each other, and a mouthpiece communicating with said lower compartment, each of said upper sub-compartments having a fingering hole formed in an upper outer wall thereof and adapted to be closed by the linger of the player, said fingering hole being constructed and arranged to direct air directly at said reeds in a path from the outside extending entirely at right angles to the plane Iof the reed plate.

3. A mouth organ comprising a hollow harmonica body, a reed plate disposed in said harmonica body and dividing the interior of the same into upper and lower major chambers, a mouthpiece communicating with said lower chamber, said upper chamber having a plurality of lingering holes formed in an upper outer wall thereof and facing said reed plate, and means for dividing said upper chamber into a plurality of compartmental ducts each communicating at one end with one of said holes and at its other end with a pair of inhale-exhale reeds in said reed plate.

4. A mouth organ comprising a hollow harmonica body, a reed plate disposed in said harmonica body and dividing the interior of the same into upper and lower major chambers, a mouthpiece communicating with said lower chamber, upper inner partition walls dividing said upper chamber into a plurality of upper compartments and isolating within each compartment an inhale and an exhale reed of said reed plate, each compartment having a ngering hole formed in an outer wall thereof facing said reed plate and constructed and arranged to receive and to be normally closed by a linger of the player, whereby, as air is caused to ow through said mouthpiece by said player, only those reeds are actuated whose iinger holes are unblocked by the fingers of the player.

5. A mouth organ comprising a hollow upper and a lower complementary body section adapted to be joined along their opposed edges to form a hollow harmonica body, each body section having a recess formed in said opposed edge, a reed plate seated in said opposed recesses and dividing the hollow interior of said harmonica body into upper and lower chambers on opposite sides of said reed plate, said body sections having complementary hollow extensions which when thus assembled form a mouthpiece communicating with said lower chamber and the underside of said reed plate and thus being common to all reeds, a plurality of fingering holes providing finger tip seats formed in an outer upper wall of said upper chamber facing said reed plate, the number of said holes being equal to one half the total number of reeds in said reed plate, the said upper chamber being subdivided by lateral walls into a plurality of sub-compartments communieating` between each pair of adjacent inhale-exhale reeds and one of said fingering holes and isolating each said pair of reeds from other pairs of reeds.

6. The construction according to claim 5, characterized further in that said lower chamber is provided with a plurality of partial partition walls corresponding in number and relative positions to the lateral walls in said upper chamber and dividing said lower chamber into a plurality of recesses open at one end and communicating at their said open ends with said mouthpiece, whereby the flow of air is guided.

JOSEPH LEDERFINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

